0206 Best Software

Truliant Federal Credit Union -- a full-service financial institution serving 170,000+ members across five states -- challenged itself to increase their level of service to their employees and achieve the once unimaginable -- a paperless payroll system. And to do it, they turned to the brand they know and trust -- Abra Suite®!

In 1993, Truliant chose Best Software's Abra Suite® to automate its growing HR and payroll needs. By 2001, as the number of its employees increased and became more dispersed, it sought to provide easier, more convenient access to information -- just as it does for its members.

To increase the level of service to employees and achieve a 100 percent "paperless payroll" system across the company’s multiple locations, Truliant implemented Abra Employee Self-Service™ (ESS) -- a secure Internet-based system that enables employees to view and update their personal information using a simple Web browser.

Banking on Abra’s PerformanceA user of Abra's core HR and payroll modules for more than eight years, Truliant has had ample time to confirm the robust capabilities of the software.

"We have enjoyed Abra Suite's ease of use and its ability to integrate HR and payroll information into one system. In fact, Abra has saved us so much time over the years – it's hard to think what our jobs would be like without it," explains Payroll Manager Ann Ballard.

"We have complete confidence in the system, too. We have never had a payroll go out late and our numbers are always accurate."

Ballard adds, "Abra Suite's tax updates are a blessing. Managing government compliance requirements would be a nightmare without them."

"For example, Ohio has so many levels of local taxes, it would take us days to research all of its tax law changes alone. And then we would need to figure out how to account for those amendments during our year-end closing process."

"With Abra, we simply install the update and we are assured that everything is taken care of."

A Big Change in Employee ServiceSince Truliant is a financial institution, its decision to add Abra's Employee Self-Service module was largely driven by the payroll department.

"Providing state-of-the-art, automated services and quality customer service is the way we do business," says Ballard. "So, when we wanted to offer a better way for our employees to view their compensation information -- such as benefits and 401K deductions -- Abra Employee Self-Service was the right choice based on its flexibility and security provisions."

The Abra ESS system also enabled Truliant to provide HR-related information online, including personal and dependant profiles and emergency contacts. Employees have the option to request that HR update this information directly. In the future, Truliant hopes to make important organization documents available for download through ESS, including employee loan forms.

"Strong employee communications is especially important for the credit union since everyone is spread out across many miles. Abra helps us stay informed," notes Ballard.

To improve the level of service to your employees and to request our FREE ESS White Paper -- "Developing a Winning eHR Strategy with Employee Self-Service" -- call 866-425-6404 with priority code AAABX right now!

Cashing In on Time and Cost SavingsTruliant's employees all use direct deposit. With the addition of Abra ESS, Ballard estimates that the department saves at least four hours per pay period by eliminating the need to print and distribute direct deposit advices to employees, plus production costs.

Additionally, the ability to securely post pay details and paycheck history online has also significantly reduced the time spent answering employee questions.

To further automate their payroll processes, Truliant recently implemented a third-party time and attendance package. The system integrates smoothly with Abra Suite, enabling the payroll department to purge additional paperwork and administrative overhead.

"We used to spend hours collecting timesheets and manually entering each employee's information into payroll. Now we simply transfer the data electronically from our time and attendance system to Abra Payroll," says Ballard.

Abra Suite -- a Wise InvestmentAfter a successful experience with Abra Suite, Truliant is looking forward to what lies ahead with the trusted product line. Ballard is excited about tapping the latest features and functionality, including Abra Alerts™, a new application that proactively distributes information to employees via email to automate and schedule HR and payroll events such as performance reviews and related activities.

Ballard concludes, "Abra Suite continues to prove its worth to us year after year."

"First, Abra Payroll helped us significantly cut the time spent on preparing and running payroll and bolstered our confidence in the numbers. Now, ESS has dramatically reduced the number of employee calls, allowing our department to better focus on more strategic issues like employee retention programs."

Next Window PleaseTo learn more about the entire family of Abra HR and Payroll solutions and a host of Best accounting and business management solutions, visit our web site at www.bestsoftware.com. With 20 years experience and an array of industry-leading solutions, we’re confident we can meet your unique business needs -- regardless of your company size or structure.